


Endure and Survive

by rhodeybear



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death, First Love, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Apocalypse, The Last of Us AU, Young Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 23:56:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20591246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodeybear/pseuds/rhodeybear
Summary: "Hey, Rhodey," Tony called out as the other boy waited for him on the other side of the plank. "What if I joined the Fireflies?"What a fucking impulsive decision he just made.On the plus side, they were all going to die, so why not spend it with someone who matters?On the other side, he saw what Nick could do and he didn’t even want to think what the Fireflies made their newbies do.





	1. Sneaking Out

The world was quiet — as quiet as it could get. He could feel the warm sun on his skin and at the same time he could hear faint chirps of a baby bird in the background. 

For an apocalyptic world, that wasn’t so bad. 

And yes, he was in deep sleep because military school was such a bitch. Just take it as another word for an orphanage but let kids fucking use guns and shit. What a wonderful world he was brought up in. 

It was probably great that he wasn't always the best with guns. He'd rather take them apart and see what they look like, put them back together and see how they work. His teacher said he's getting better at target practice each day (he absolutely thinks he's lying to make him feel good), so that accounts for something. 

It's also a wonder that no one wants to room with him. Probably because he was charming? _ Too _Charming? Or perhaps the fact that he was so fucking eccentric that no one wanted to get to know him. They thought he was useless. Or just really mouthy. Who knows? 

Most of them thought he was useless. Except for Rhodey, who he roomed with. Except that guy won't be back until… well, nobody knows. He wished that they'd still have phones as they mentioned in those old magazines. That way, he wouldn't be feeling as lonely as ever.

Up until he felt a set of teeth upon his neck and torpid groans. His heartbeat quickened yet his hands worked faster as they took out a knife from underneath his pillow to stab the fucking infected that got to his room (and how could that be when he was in fucking military school? Unless the school was overrun and everyone he knows was killed by those ugly bitches… oh no oh no oh no what if Rhodey came back to find the school filled with infected and he got infected too? What-) 

"Tones!" A guy shrieks from somewhere beneath him. "It's me!" 

Tony Stark blinked to see his _ best friend _ underneath him with his hands up in surrender, looking quite pale but also mustering a shaky smile. Tony stepped back immediately and crossed his arms. 

He would've hugged him now, but he didn’t want to be seen as pathetic. Or clingy. Whatever. It's not like the guy disappeared for six months straight. _ Not that he was counting _. 

"What the hell? I thought I was bitten!" Tony started, putting back the knife in his pocket. "I could've killed you!" 

"Yeah," Rhodey responded with a huge grin as Tony helped him up. "But you didn't." 

A grimace coated Tony's lips before he jumped on Rhodey, his arms around his neck and just pressing himself tightly to the warmth that was James Rupert Rhodes. Fuck he missed this. _ He missed him _. 

"Where've you been?" Tony whispered worriedly on Rhodey's neck as the other laughed. Fuck, he missed that laugh too. 

"Can't say, or else I'll kill you." The other said with a smirk. Tony was caught off-guard at that threat. What the fuck was he threatening him for? He took a step back and sat on his bed to think about why Rhodey would've said such a thing. It's clearly a joke, but was it really? 

Rhodey must have read Tony's expression because he was explaining himself a second after. "Sorry, it's from a thing. You know, a movie before the world went to shit. The title's James Bond, and it's about a spy who travels the world and kills people." 

"So what you're saying…" Tony tilted his head in question, "Is that you're a spy now. For the Fireflies." 

"Not so loud!" Rhodey warned but shrugged. "No, I'm no spy. You know how Nick gets. He can't trust me with that type of thing yet." 

An awkward silence hung around the room heavily as the two boys didn't know what to say or do, exactly. But it was Rhodey who started to break the silence. It was always him. 

"So, you want to know where I've been?" He smiled a bit, saw the mischief in those eyes as he looked at Tony with a subtle determination. 

Tony shook his head a bit, still cautious of Rhodey as if he were a dream that could disappear any time now. "All this time," he began, voice soft and wary that his own might break, "I thought you were _dead_." 

At this, the other boy nodded quickly in agreement. Shit must have gone down for Rhodey to agree with him that fast. "Yeah," he says, taking off his Firefly dogtags and handing it to Tony. "Look." 

A small gasp pushed forth from Tony's lips, eyes in surprise as he continued examining the dogtags. "No way." He whispered after seeing Rhodey's name on the dogtags. He was a fucking Firefly now. A real one. 

He didn't know when Rhodey started moving around the room but all he knew was that he heard the other chuckle softly and ask, "Still no roommate?" from the other side of the room. He began talking about this other guy he roomed with but Tony couldn’t wrap his head around the words, not when Rhodey was made a Firefly. 

"You're a Firefly." He said, trying to keep his voice normal as he looked at Rhodey. Rhodey, who just shrugged it off like it was nothing. As if being a part of a rebellious group was nothing. 

**_Fireflies_**. A fucking rebellious group that went against the current state of government they were in. _ Look for the light _ was their sole motto. As if they didn’t kill soldiers on a regular basis as well, or bomb their bases. How were the two different? Because one actively looks for a cure while the other embraced the chaos they are in? Fuck that. It was the same way when it came to death. 

Instead of paying attention to Tony’s statement, Rhodey was preoccupied with their picture on the wall. He was holding the camera and Tony was next to him with his arms wrapped around him. He took the photo off the wall and waved it over at Tony. "I can't believe you still have it up--" 

And there was Tony, who was preoccupied with something else entirely. Opening the door in his boxers and oversized shirt and checking if there was anyone around. 

"Tony. Tones. What are you doing?" Rhodey _ almost _ had disbelief in his tone because for God's sake, he was here for him, not to get Tony in trouble _ at all _. 

When he was sure the coast was clear, Tony turned to look at him, a frown evident on his face. "I'm just making sure I don't get caught with a Firefly in my room." 

_ Like you'll ever _, Rhodey thought. He was trained better than this — trained to be careful and to be discreet. He was trained to look for other entrances where soldiers weren’t in and to be patient if they were. The element of surprise was the most important thing, as Nick always told him. 

"Relax," Rhodey began, patting Tony on the chest gently. "You think I don't know about their routine? It's okay," he said just as softly. "There are no soldiers on the entire floor." 

Tony rolled his eyes and grabbed Rhodey's hand to give back the dogtags he was presented with. "Here." 

"Hey," Rhodey called out, looking at Tony with those puppy-dog eyes. "Are we cool?" 

Six months was a long time, and for some reason, he couldn’t read Tony as clearly as he used to. That was his fault, but Rhodey's loyalty to his cause was just as strong as his loyalty to Tony. 

"Are. We. Cool." Tony bit back acerbically, and Rhodey got it just at once. 

"I disappeared and you're mad," Rhodey nodded patiently as Tony scoffed loudly. Like Rhodey wasn't the biggest idiot for not noticing that. But Rhodey continued on anyway, "_ And _ I owe you an explanation." 

He looked as if he would lose Tony one more time and abruptly looked away. "Let's get out of here and I'll tell you all about it." 

It might have been selfish, but Rhodey wanted to tell him and to be with him. Even if Tony didn’t know that just yet. 

"It's almost morning, and I have military drills!" Tony threw his hands up like the drama queen that he was. "You know? Where we learn how to kill Fireflies?" 

Like Rhodey _ didn’t _know. He just threw Tony a pair of pants and smiled. "Just put these pants on and let's go." 

Against his better judgment with going with Rhodey, Tony decided to put the pants on, mumbling _ I'm so dumb, _ while Rhodey waited for him outside. Why did he feel like this would be their last meeting or something? Like the next time they will meet, they will be on some kind of battlefield? 

Rhodey interrupted his train of thought with a smirk and a, "C'mon, when have I ever gotten us into trouble?" 

And just like that, Tony found himself crumbling. Jesus _ fucking _Christ. 

This is some shitty world, and this was some shitty romance-cliché trope where they were basically enemies but they were also fucking in love or something. 

Fuck. 

What could he do when the boy he loves was fighting on the other side? Tony tried to not think about it as he put on his backpack and tried his hardest to sneak out. 

It was fairly obvious to Rhodey and Tony that they wouldn’t get out of the military school _ that _ easily. There were a few close calls when Tony slipped or when Rhodey miscalculated. But in the end, Tony supposes it was all worth it to be closer to Rhodey, hell, to even spend time with him. 

He was _neck-deep_ in shit to be feeling like this. 

After scaling a wall and getting his ass inside a small window, while also dropping ass first (rather, ungracefully, if you ask him), Rhodey helped him up while chuckling softly to himself. 

They were both out of breath from all the running and hiding. Tony assumed he'd have sore legs tomorrow morning.

"Oh man," Rhodey wheezed a laugh between breaths. "That was close, huh?" Tony turned to look up at the fucking window he just climbed and looked back at Rhodey, who was still smiling "You were kinda fast there. I'm impressed."

It was sort of difficult to impress someone like Rhodey. Especially when they lived under a totalitarian government and that guy didn’t find it too impressive. He was abhorrent of it, after all. 

Tony just looked away from Rhodey (What was he, ten? Why the fuck was he acting like this?) and mumbled a soft _ thanks _ to his compliment. 

Though it's rather… different? Exciting? Suspicious? That Rhodey's enthused about all this sneaking and hiding just to show him something — just to talk to him about something. Tony didn’t know what it was about and that rather set the alarms off in his head. He trusted Rhodey with all that he had, but he hadn’t seen him for six months now. 

_ Six months _. 

"Well, come on! Up we go!" Rhodey set off with a light jog, flashlight taped to his backpack in the same position Tony mimicked. It was an abandoned house which they weren't allowed in, but he supposed Rhodey was using this as a connection to get to somewhere he'd really wanted to be. 

Soft breaths and footsteps were all that was heard in that house, along with the occasional creaking floorboards as they maneuvered their way through the building. Tony cleared his throat in an attempt to ease the silence they had gotten themselves into.

"So," he asked, curiosity tinged his voice. "How did you find them?"

"The Fireflies?" 

"No, the Beatles." He snorted. "Of course, the Fireflies." 

Rhodey gave a soft snicker as he continued to move forward. "Remember that Firefly that you bit and stole his gun?" 

"Yeah. I remember him," Tony responded lowly as he looked directly ahead of him, trying his best not to remember their first meeting and Rhodey putting them both in grave danger because of his fucking ideals. 

"That's Trevor," Rhodey continued on. "I saw him walking down the street and I tailed his ass. I followed him into an alley and all these Fireflies ambushed me." He paused a bit as they crouched to get to another room that had been barricaded. "They took me straight to their hideout. To Nick." 

Tony was caught on how Rhodey's voice grew quietly when he said Nick's name as if he'd conjure up any moment and start shooting them from where they stood. 

Not to mention that the bastard knew about Tony's mother. And he kept tabs on him all this time. 

_What a prick_. 

"Were you scared?" Tony asked as he plopped down on a dirty couch to rest and scanned the magazines on the table and took some of them with him. 

"Oh, I was fucking terrified." Rhodey held his hands up, pretending he was holding a gun. "I thought this time he would actually shoot me." He put down his hands and sighed. "But instead he says, “What took you so long?” and turns out he was expecting me." 

There was a bit of pride in that tone of his that worried Tony. Rhodey liked this but he also knew how it would end. They saw it with their own eyes. Jesus fuck, Tony almost lost Rhodey the same day he met him. 

"And what?" Tony asked, quite sarcastically. "He just made you a Firefly. Boom, here's your dog tags. Congrats, _ kid _."

Tony made sure to put emphasis on the word "kid" since Rhodey was only fifteen when they met the Fireflies and Tony was just thirteen. 

That was six months ago. 

Rhodey is sixteen and, well… Tony is fourteen but that doesn't mean they're stupid. 

For fuck's sake, they were just a bunch of kids figuring out which way to die the fastest. Through the military or a rebel group? The numbers told him the latter would go out first, but he couldn’t tell that to Rhodey now. Not when everything was so… fresh. 

"Something… like that." Rhodey said hesitantly. He crossed his arms as he waited for Tony at the doorway. "That whole “almost killing me” thing was a test. He wanted to know if I was committed."

_ Committed to what? Dying for a lost cause? _ Tony was so tempted to say but decided to bite his tongue on it. All he could say was, "Oh," in return. 

They decided to push forward as the silence began to engulf them. Rhodey, as usual, led the way as Tony struggled to keep up with his speed. 

"C'mon," Rhodey said in that amicable voice he'd always had, except he wasn't making new friends now. _ He was scaling a fucking wall and offering Tony a hand _. Some things just never changed, he guessed. "We're making good time." 

Another beat of quietude before Rhodey queried, "Who do you hang out with these days?"

Well, _ouch_. 

For one thing, he'd always been a troublemaker. And another, people just didn’t want to hang out with him. Was it because of his tragic past or he just has that drifter charm going around? 

Pfft. Everyone has got a tragic past. So it was probably the latter. 

So he went for honesty instead. "I don't know. No one, really." 

"What about Carol and the rest of the gals? How are they doin'?" 

"Rhodey," Tony called out with inanition resonating in his voice. "Those are _ your _ friends." 

Rhodey looked at Tony as if he were an idiot. "But you talk to them?" 

He couldn’t help but agree with that, so he nodded as he followed alongside Rhodey. "Yeah, I guess." 

It wasn't until they came across the whole Fireflies propaganda graffiti on the wall that Tony couldn't help but ask, "So…" He pointed at the red spray paint with a thumb. "You guys found the light yet or…?" 

The other boy couldn't help but crack a smile. "Har, har, Tony." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tony's mocking voice was hilarious to Rhodey, seeing as he was also mockingly patting Rhodey on the back. "I didn't mean to offend your people!" 

Another snort and Rhodey rolled his eyes at Tony's humor. God how he had missed him. But maybe now's not the right time to tell him, seeing as he's still pissed. 

"So what," Tony inquired, "You buy into their own brand of brainwashing?" 

"Look," Rhodey sighed, pinching his temple a bit at the headache that was bound to come. "All I know is that I'm not one of those soldiers who kill on sight." 

They stepped towards a flooded laundry room and up towards the stairs until they heard the PSA coming from a nearby speaker: 

_ Attention _ . _ We are pleased to report The Zone has been free of the cordyceps infection for thirty days _ . _ Your cooperation and dutiful attention to suspicious activity keep this city safe _. 

Rhodey gave a low chortle. It wasn't genuine of any sort, it was just plain… Bitter and somewhat foreign to even Tony himself. It sounded dangerous — if Tony had to put it in words. It wasn't channeled at him, though. Instead, it was channeled at the fucked up government killing people when they snuck outside since there weren’t any rations to last them for an entire month. 

"Thirty days my ass," Rhodey said with a slight growl, trying his damnest not to show it to Tony. "People are getting infected all the time, they just do a good job of hiding it."

Tony couldn’t help but agree. He'd been hearing more pleas that were followed by gunshots every day. If he knew that, Rhodey sure as hell knew more about it than he let on. 

That didn’t help to cease the worry that began to blossom inside the younger boy's chest. How could Rhodey possibly know about the increasing numbers of infected people? 

"You've…" Tony stopped as they continued jogging into wherever the fuck they were going but after a moment continued anyway. "You've run into more infected?" 

The older boy wasn't as quick to answer as he was with the other questions that Tony threw at him. There was vacillation in his eyes and a stutter in his movements. Yet, he responded not a minute after, "As part of my initiation, they actually made me kill this…" 

The irresolution was perceptible upon the other's silence. Tony was about to say something clever or to tell him it's okay not to say anything when Rhodey cut him to it. 

"Let's talk about something else,” he said as they finally came out the window and into the open air. It was drizzling which made it quite difficult to see. 

Just when Tony hopped out the window, Rhodey immediately ducked down and told Tony to hide with a sense of urgency. They both turned off their flashlights and hid behind a wall that was big enough to conceal them both. 

Tony watched as two armed van drives by. He turned to look at the other boy, and all he could see was adrenaline, bewilderment and a tiny bit of self-preservation in his face. Something that Tony clearly didn’t have.

When the armed vans successfully drove by without either of the boys getting seen, Rhodey let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. 

"Sorry," he apologized breathlessly to Tony. "I'm a bit jumpy lately."

_ Well _ … _ That opens up a lot of questions _, Tony thought. Either they could sit down and work out all their psychological issues or they could just pretend like nothing ever happened. So far, the latter sounded more appealing than the former. 

But he couldn’t stop his mouth from moving first and it's out even before he even thought it was a bad idea. 

"Hey, Rhodey," Tony called out as the other boy waited for him on the other side of the plank. "What if I joined the Fireflies?" 

What a fucking impulsive decision he just made. 

On the plus side, they were all going to die, so why not spend it with someone who matters? 

On the other side, he saw what Nick could do and he didn’t even want to think what the Fireflies made their newbies do. 

Rhodey let out a soft chuckle before patting Tony gently on the head as if he were some dog. But the way he looked at Tony… was different. 

"Oh, Tones…" He sighed with exasperated adoration for the younger boy. "That was the first thing I asked Nick. Turns out he wants you safe at that dumbass school. I'm not even _ supposed _ to come and see you." 

The way he says “supposed” as if changing it with _ allowed _ was something not to overlook. 

Something inside Tony boiled at the fact that even in the Fireflies, Rhodey wasn't allowed the freedom he thought he'd have. 

"Why does he _ care _ ?" He asked quite aggressively. The concept of _ care _ has been lost to Tony for how many fucking years. At least Rhodey's care was more genuine. It was abso-fucking-lutely real. 

"Because," the rebel moved away from Tony in order to lead. "He's worried I'll get you into more trouble." 

"That's cute," Tony replied sarcastically. "Thought he had eyes and ears everywhere. Does he know I get in trouble on my own? Because it's a shame if he doesn't." 

Rhodey didn’t need to turn around to know that people saying they care pissed Tony off more than anyone else. He laughed at Tony's sarcasm. 

Dark skies loomed ahead as the rain got heavier. Tony had been alive long enough to know that it was never safe to go out when the sun was going down. 

Like any decent person with a large amount of self-preservation, they should have gone back or gone to a safe house.

Except it's unfortunate that they were not decent, nor do either of them have a big amount of self-preservation. Tony sometimes wondered if he was like Rhodey, but Rhodey had a set of values and beliefs on how to make the world a better place while he was here trying to stay alive. 

Being a martyr could get you from point A to point Death, after all. He only hoped that Rhodey could see that. 

He just hoped to whatever the fuck was out there that Rhodey could see it. 

Rhodey spotted a hole in the roof and jumped, leading them inside the mall. It was better than getting wet all night, that was for sure. 

"Tones," the other proceeded to walk this time, so he could take a look at Tony with a smile, "Remember the first time I brought you here?" 

How could someone forget that? Being taught how to ride a horse, Rhodey using Tony as a fucking distraction, defending the Fireflies and almost getting killed themselves. Yeah. _Fun times_. 

"What are we doing here, Rhodey?" Tony finally asked, annoyance distinct in his voice. 

"I… might have a surprise for you," Rhodey said, fully conceited. 

"What?" 

Silence. 

"Is it a robot?" 

".....Maybe." Rhodey said contemplatively. 

"I'll be your friend again if it's a giant death robot." 

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"You know those aren't within my skillset, Rhodey!" 

The other laughed heartily at Tony's pout, and he knew that wasn’t so damn bad. That _ this _ wasn’t so damn bad. They were just kids taking a break from the shitshow the world had thrown at them. An… intermission, if you will. 

They descended upon the escalator, Tony still charmed at the whole nature-reclaims-the-world thing that people kept talking about. The growing mosses, grass inside the mall, nests over nests and just… 

"I still wonder what life was like before all this," Tony said out loud once they were on the ground floor, his set of calloused hands scraping through the smooth edges of a leaf. 

When he turned back, he didn't quite expect to see Rhodey's somber expression at what he said. 

He was even more perplexed at not knowing what to say. _Shit_, how do you even comfort someone? 

Tony ran a hand through his own hair and saw a billboard that said "Hawaii". 

"Hey," he nodded in the billboard's direction. "You still saving up for that vacation?" 

"Every penny," Rhodey answered back without any… emotion to it. "How about you?" He asked back and Tony merely shrugged. 

"Every penny." He repeated wistfully before Rhodey tilted his head and asked, "What if we get to choose?" 

"Get to choose where?"

"Yeah."

"Uhhh…. Hello? Surfing in LA?" 

"Tony, you sure you're up for surfing?" Rhodey leaned on a pillar and looked at him. "Your upper body strength isn't… You know, all that great." 

"Hey, man! Not cool!" Tony said, touching his own biceps. "Wait 'til I grow some guns. And then you'll be sorry." 

"Sometimes, I forget you've been through puberty already." Rhodey shook his head, "C'mon, let's keep going." 

Several decaying movie posters were encased in glasses, and Tony couldn’t help but wonder what the movies were like back when everything was still… Well, normal.

A wolf and a woman? Some robots big enough to conquer worlds… People were always looking forward to the future even before, and how they used technology in some of the comic books and magazines he read were rather fascinating. 

Which made it ultimately disappointing that mankind never saw the potential danger in a fucking fungi. All the dreams in those posters, in those magazines, yet no one foresaw the danger in mushrooms or any of that kind. 

Perhaps if he lived in that sort of reality where technology was attainable almost anywhere and anytime, he'd be having the time of his life too. 

Maybe in another life, Rhodey would be a man with power, wielding it righteously. Or he’d be up in the clouds, flying airplanes or those fighter jets. He always talked about how he loved the skies, maybe in that life, he could have had it. 

Another poster caught his eye, and it was one of those water guns that Tony and Rhodey used. Except, of course, it was fucking confiscated by the Corporal Dickhead™.

"You know," Tony said proudly. "I got 'em back. " 

"Whoa!" Rhodey all but hollered, his eyes twinkling with delight as he looked at Tony with incredulity. The expression itself sent nothing but satisfaction down Tony's spine and perchance it could be because of the overachiever in him. 

He didn’t wanna dwell on it, either. 

"You got it back from Corporal Dickhead? You're not shitting me, are you?" The other asked jokingly as he looked at Tony. Man, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. 

"Yep!" Tony answered back with a grin. "And I didn't get caught this time. Nothing too big either. Just some… Power outage and a misdirection. Voíla! Guns are back and power's back on." 

"And you made sure there's nothing to lead back to you?" 

"Nope, nothing. I had enough time to make sure of it too. It's just trial and error, y'know?" Tony couldn't help but grin back either. He was still furious with Rhodey for disappearing out of nowhere, but his joy was too fucking contagious. 

"Awww, man. Tones." Rhodey shook his head, he tried so hard to hide his glee but he just couldn't. "You did all that for a pair of water guns? Man, why are you stubborn?" Rhodey couldn't help but put an arm around Tony. "You sure you ain't lyin'? I mean, where is it?" 

"It's tucked safely away in my room. I had to hide it since… the corporal knows I don't care for his rules and I was the number one suspect. They need some repairing though." 

"Hold on," Rhodey put a hand up in front of Tony. "Where'd you learn how to cause power outages?" 

"Books," Tony replied earnestly, trying to frown in order to hide the way his chest swells at Rhodey's compliments, "Lots and lots of books they keep lying around." 


	2. Follow The Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is love? ’Tis not hereafter;  
Present mirth hath present laughter;  
What’s to come is still unsure;  
In delay there lies no plenty. 
> 
> Oh my god. He's so fucking screwed. He's so fucking in love with his best friend. 

Adrenaline courses through his veins, uncertainty thrumming through ichor and unleashing itself as electricity at his fingertips. Sweat continues to drip from his temples, hazel doe eyes staring at the window which he helped Rhodey climbed nearly half a minute ago. 

"Well?" He calls out, distress lacing into his voice as he fidgets, endeavoring to remain calm as the thoughts of the different possible ways of his friend's death cross his mind. 

His breathing becomes laboured as his brows furrowed, lip turned to a frown as he calls out hopelessly once more, "Rhodey? You there?" 

Silence greets him and envelops the boy fully in it. It was heavy, suffocating, even in the few seconds he was left alone. There was no guarantee if Rhodey was safe, and the thought alone makes his heart beats faster against his ribs. To the point it gets a little more difficult to breathe each second that passes by. 

What an idiot he was, letting Rhodey in alone. He could've volunteered instead, and he wouldn't be worrying here like the dumbass that he is. 

It was massively uneasing, how the thought of death can jolt anyone out of logical reasoning. Fingers upon fingers, nails bitimg down, he tries to stop himself from knocking down the door and making more noise as it is. The mall wasn't quarantined for nothing, after all. Something dangerous might still be lurking about. 

Lips parted, obviously about to call out his friend once more before the door clicks partly open. It was not enough to see what the store has, but enough to get inside and save Rhodey if ever he was in trouble. 

He comes to a conclusion that he definitely doesn't like that thought. He shakes it away, and tries to forget about it as quite calloused fingers meet the harsh cold of metal against his skin. 

Tony's own reflexes come quite a tad late as he sees a monstrous head coming from his left, not attacking but scaring him with quite a shout. Red, disheveled hair, yellow gaping eyes, sharp teeth that curls to a maniacal smile and an ashen skin. 

He gasps quite loudly before he recognises the laugh that comes after. The boy merely shoves at the other with barely any force to it. 

"You dick!" He raises his voice in agitation, "Fucking scumbag! That's twice today!" 

Yet, Rhodey's satisfied laugh was heavenly to hear. It was enough, he thinks, to keep the anger and fear at bay. 

"How the hell did we never find this place?" The other boy queries, albeit quite muffled from the mask. The curiosity in his voice was hard to miss. 

Sometimes, he forgets that Rhodey was a kid like him, too. And not a soldier, or a rebel kid waiting to overthrow the government or something. There were still a lot of stuff he hasn't discovered, or a lot of things he hasn't done. 

Rhodey is still sixteen. 

Tony finds himself biting back another sarcastic answer to Rhodey's question. He was in too good a mood in order to let things be sullied by Tony's cynicism. 

Or is he just trying to be happy  _ for _ Tony? 

When Tony neither moved nor answered, Rhodey picks up the pace and even if Tony couldn't see the face underneath the mask, he knows the boy was grinning. "C'mon," Rhodey says with a wave of his hand, "Saw a mask you might like." 

"Rhodey…" He watches as Rhodey practically skips over to where the mask was, which was like ten steps away from where he was standing. 

Within a few steps, he crossed the gap between them, an eyebrow raised at Rhodey at his rather childish display. Yet, he elects to look at the mask the other presents him with, and tilts a head in wonderment. 

"What is that?" Rhodey asks as he steps closer to Tony, "a wolf-man or something?" 

Dust covers the rubber mask, with its' large jaw impossibly open. He doesn't really know if wolves can open their mouths that big but if a human did? God knows they're gonna have wounds on the side of their mouths for being a dumbass. 

Before Rhodey can talk some more about what the fuck this mask really is (it's adorable, that they both tried to wonder what it is when they're both born in this shitfest of a world), Tony swipes it off of the wooden handle like the brat he is, pats it down because this mask  _ really _ collected dust, and puts it on. 

The other boy stares at him dumbfoundedly, as if he was waiting for something, before Tony puts both hands on his hips. It's a shame that Rhodey couldn't see the grin he has on. 

"Well?" Tony asks. He knows he looks ridiculous with this animal head, and it smells bad too. 

Like, Justin Hammer's armpits kind of bad. 

"Aren't you gonna roar?" Rhodey asks back with a smile, and that might be the dumbest thing Tony's heard from him. And he heard about him talk about being a Firefly! Why would he leave him just like that? 

As usual, Tony decides to hold his tongue and ask innocently instead, "Roar?" 

The boy laughs at Tony's attempt at looking so unflatteringly guileless. He knows what he's about and it's definitely not  _ that _ . 

"Didn't you read that one book with the wolf thing?" Rhodey continues to inquire, "The one with the white kids being vampires and stuff. You know. They  _ twinkle _ under the sun?" 

He decides to stare at the older kid. He said "twinkle". Like the fucking audacity of this shithead is really getting to him, if he didn't actually think it was charming. Fuck. Whatever. 

"First of all," Tony starts in quite a high-pitched voice that usually indicates something along the lines of  _ i will lecture the shit out of you and prove you wrong, you asshole _ , "It's not twinkle, okay? What is he, some kind of star?" 

"Don't really see how this helps prove your point." Rhodey grumbles, and tries so hard to hide the smile that's bursting at the corners of his lips. 

"Second," Tony waves with two fingers, and it's taking up all of Rhodey's self-control not to laugh at Tony with his dumb stupid mask. He stands in a middle of a costume store getting lectured by one flabbergasted Tony Stark who's currently wearing a wolf mask. 

" _ Second _ ," Tony snaps his fingers to keep Rhodey's focus on him. What a prick. "I was just trying out what they all wrote about before shit happened, okay? That was  _ experimental _ ." Tony's voice was edged with something akin to… Bullshit. 

It was so obvious that Tony was bullshitting and if Rhodey takes off the mask, he'd probably see him blushing underneath it. 

"Tony," Rhodey starts, laughter bubbling in his voice, "It's okay if you like being chased down by old men and… Wolf….. Guys… It's fine. I think it's something people liked a lot before this shit started." 

Tony doesn't talk, at all. He remains silent, like he was trying to weigh those words in or he actually likes the idea of being chased down by half wolves men or vampires. The kid is strange. 

"Do you want me to…" Rhodey starts off, looking a little bit unsure, but his voice is soft laced with something close to amusement, "Wear it and chase you around?" 

_ A moment of silence _ , Tony thinks, to my fucking dignity. At least way back in camp, he was being respected. Or technically, he was avoided since he has all that stock of bad reputation from being somewhat openly defiant of anything he thinks is a shitty solution to just being a plain mischievous asshole who doesn't know when to shut his mouth. 

Happy and Pepper thinks he's improving on the latter. 

"Fuck you." Tony says, pettily shoving some decorations on the shelf to the floor like it'd make all the difference in the world, "I think having a man-wolf chase me down is better than a lame Firefly." 

The dark boy often wonders if Tony was just born cruelly apathetic to the world or he'd rather turn a blind eye than to witness anything made by mankind. He was still sheltered, after all. Away from all the dangers, away from having to take a life in exchange for his. 

Rhodey thinks that's better than living in the harsh reality. To live in a bubble where he thinks the greatest challenge was probably not being bullied or having military drills every morning with a dickhead for a commanding officer. 

"Is that the best you can do?" He asks with a smirk, "That's a pretty lame comeback, Tony." 

"Shut up." Tony throws back just as easily, "It's not like I was verbally challenged during those six months. Try being friends with Happy and Pepper." 

"I've been gone for only six months and you forgot already?" Rhodey asks in a mocking tone, because he wasn't gone for that long that it'll slip Tony's mind, "I'm also friends with them. Who think introduced you to them?" 

"I've always thought it was my charm that got them both." Tony responds, light and casual, and the smile was noted even in his voice. 

"Are you gonna roar or not?" Rhodey queries, going back to the original topic at hand since the twinkle-sparkle debacle set them off, and knowing Tony, it's pretty easy for him to get sidetracked. 

A beat of silence once more, Tony's fingers lacing with each other as if he was nervous. He stands there, fidgeting, and looking smaller than he originally does. 

Good god, Rhodey would like to hold his hand one day. 

But Tony changes his stance quick: his chin tilts up, his shoulders flattened and his feet set apart before he lets out a powerful roar that reverberates against the walls of the empty store. 

"Fuck," Rhodey laughs, his hands coming together as he applauds Tony, and Tony, without anything else to do, does a bow in the most pompous way possible.

"Thank you," the smaller man tips his head at Rhodey's direction before clearing his throat, " _ That's _ how you do a roar." 

"Bet that boy Gerald should learn some lessons from you." The dark boy says as he begins to walk off, inspecting the other side of the store. 

"Gerald?" Tony asks, as he takes off his mask and puts on another mask in a form of a bird with a hat, "Who the fuck is Gerald?"

"That guy from the book you were reading. The wolf-man." Rhodey answers back easily as he goes from shelf to shelf, and the wrong name gets Tony laughing in no time.

"What's so funny?" The other boy asks, brows furrowed, looking like he's trying to solve the world's hardest puzzle. Well, in some way, he is. Since he's looking at Tony. 

"It's Jacob." Tony tries so hard not to let the corners of his lips turn to a flippant smile, but his voice betrays him all the same, "Where you got Gerald from, I don't know." 

He examines a jar of fake eyeballs, minutely repugnant yet astonished at how people lived before the infection even started, "What do people even used this for?" He asks, pivoting on the soles of his feet to be greeted by nothing. 

And he turns around to see Rhodey gone, as if he vanished from thin air. Tony isn't one to linger in a place alone, much less leave Rhodey in this costume store. That dickhead's probably somewhere, hiding. He doesn't like that heart attacks are Rhodey's measurement of what he constitutes as  _ fun _ . 

He rounds a corner sharply, his heart beginning the early thumps of a heart attack and his nerves lighting as the panic attack is on the edge-- all before a coffin door swings open and almost hits Tony in the face. 

Which also causes him to slightly yell in surprise at Rhodey. 

"AaaaaaAAAggggggHHHHhhhhh…" The boy groans, now donning a vampire mask and turning to the still-aghast Tony, "Give me your blood!" 

"You shithead!" The smaller boy retorts just as easily, his hand falling quick to his chest as he tries to calm down, "Jesus, you're so lame." 

Rhodey laughs heartily, not being able to see Tony's expression but the waver in his voice is enough to tell him just how much the prank worked. Tony has always been a jumpy kid. 

"Come on," the dark boy leads on, "Let's see what this place has." 

He leads, as he always have, with Tony right behind his heels. He turns to a bookshelf that's caught the other's attention, and began reading aloud the titles, " _ Cauldron of Shadows _ ,  _ True Horror Tales _ ,  _ Fearful Fables _ … That's pretty neat." 

It wasn't as if Tony wants to keep anything from Rhodey, but the minute the other boy turns his attention away from the bookshelf, he began taking the books and putting it in his own bag. It was something worth reading, he guesses. Anything about the world's old life is something he finds entirelt captivating. 

"Yo, Tones." Rhodey calls out from the other side of the room, "You know what'll make this all better?" 

A sigh escapes Tony's lips, and as much as he doesn't want Rhodey to go, he'll miss this… All of this. "I don't know, " he muses, "Electricity?" 

"Exactly." Rhodey takes off his mask to grin at him, "Oh whew, fresh air! Now, cmon." 

Without being noticed, Tony decides to take a skull that's called  _ Skeleseer _ . For some reason, it looks interesting. It might even bring them help when the time comes. He puts it in his bag real quick before running after Rhodey. 

The suffocating cobweb-filled air leaves his lungs as he trots right after the other, the crisp of the night air filling his lungs and quickly abandoning the grotty yet eccentric ambience of the forlorn shop. 

It's shitty, he thinks, that Rhodey gets to leave him and join some  _ Holier Than Thou _ militia group to die faster. Everyone knows that joining the Fireflies has a 25.5% of living. Of course, Rhodey is well-aware but the shittiest thing is that Rhodey has a heart of gold that wants to help everyone out. 

He also got sick of staying put and watching random people get killed by the military. He got sick of watching people have ration cards with no rations to feed them. He got sick of people eating rats because the people who's supposed to be protecting them are also killing them. 

Maybe he's just entirely sick of this world and wants to change it. 

Tony doesn't understand from Rhodey's perspective, entirely. Since the main reason he's still alive is probably luck. Spite and luck. He wants to bet, however, that it was mostly just a miracle that someone like him is still here, breathing, and staring at the only boy that he can proudly call his best friend.

Something ugly tries to rip itself out of his ivory cages: a selfish desire to keep Rhodey away from all of this. To make him see that it was all senseless, that it was pathetic, that it was a death wish where no one would mourn for him or even remember him. He was just a kid used as a pawn by some madman thinking he could change the world with a shitty slogan. 

The younger man tries to swallow down the ugliness, and hides it away from the other. It'll just lead to another argument that'll have Rhodey disappearing for another six months or so. Was it really worth to say all that when they just made up, kind of? It's just his fucked-up brain nagging away, after all. 

He tries to silence it by focusing on Rhodey's carefree smile and this manner in which he holds himself: confident, knowledgeable and lackadaisical. Almost as if they weren't two kids who just snuck in a mall they weren't allowed to be in at all. 

"So," Rhodey starts, breathing out energy that has Tony enraptured, "Turns out, all the city's got power." He says with an easy smirk, as if he's three steps ahead of Tony each time. "They just flip the circuit breakers." 

The younger man scoffs, with a challenging tone underlying his voice, "How come you suddenly know all this?" 

Rhodey uses his flashlight effectively to break the rusty lock of an electrical switchbox (he's read a lot of books, okay), and turns around to raise an eyebrow at Tony as he grips an orange handle. "Nick told me,  _ duh _ ." And as Tony levels him with a look that says  _ that's bullshit and you know it and I know it _ , Rhodey can only sigh in defeat and say, "I ask a lot… okay? You frequently ask about these sort of things, well… I figured next time we meet…"

The Firefly fumbles through his words, suddenly looks uneasy and unsure of himself. As if the Rhodey he was so in sync with suddenly disappeared. Not entirely but… Tony can at least figure out what was going on in Rhodey's head. This time around? He isn't so certain of it anymore. The more he can't keep up with Rhodey, the more uncomfortable he feels. 

Like he doesn't belong here at all, at Rhodey's side. 

"Anyway," Rhodey clears his throat and forcefully brings Tony back into the present with him, "Would you do the honours?" 

Even when Tony and Rhodey are still finding their footing around each other, he still can't comprehend the fact that Rhodey was  _ thinking of him _ while he was in a whole other state with a bunch of rebellions, who,  _ he'd like to point out _ , were busy fighting for their lives. 

The smile on his lips comes effortlessly this time, the hubris on his face apparent as he puts his fingers on the orange handle Rhodey held before ( _ it's still so warm from Rhodey's grip _ ).

" _ Honeybear _ ," Tony starts off, batting his eyelashes at the other boy, "If this doesn't work, I won't hold it against you." 

He hears Rhodey's soft snicker before he feels a hand shoving him lightly on the back. "Just do it already, man." Rhodey urges before Tony flips the switch back. 

With one push, the lights flicker and Tony can just make out faint music playing in the background. He hears himself chuckle in surprise as well, as he didn't  _ fully expect _ this to happen. He has trust in his best friend but he usually doesn't believe  _ everything _ he says. 

"So the entire mall is lit up?" He asks quite breathlessly, still not recovering from his surprised that the electricity thing did work. But his attention comes divided as he looks at Rhodey--

\--And his best friend's grin comes so doubtlessly, with his eyes twinkling in delight that everything about Rhodey has Tony instantly magnetized. He was, in Tony's eyes, something rare and genuine that he's so certain that someone like Rhodey only exists every hundred years or so. 

What the fuck was with that cheesy line? He doesn't really know anymore. All he knows is that his best friend has his hand around his wrist, tugging him around excitedly while saying something along the lines of "Let's find out!" as they both hurry to see what the mall looked like years before the Infection happened. 

A line in Twelfth Night suddenly flashes in his head, going: 

_ What is love _ ?  _ ’Tis not hereafter _ ;

_ Present mirth hath present laughter _ ;

_ What’s to come is still unsure _ ;

_ In delay there lies no plenty _ . 

Oh my god.  _ He's so fucking screwed _ . He's so fucking in love with his best friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is unbeta'ed and i didn't double-check so theres a lot of grammatical and spelling errors. also the first half is jumping back and forth between rhodey and tony's but the end is purely tony's fjfjdjdjs im so bad at this please!! 
> 
> hope everyone is staying safe!! kudos and comments are REALLY appreciated thanks!!

**Author's Note:**

> it's been a while since i've written, but yeah heres my mess! Eew. 
> 
> would also like to give a huge thanks to @stankrhodes for proofreading this!
> 
> concrit is more than welcome! 
> 
> find me on twitter : @rhodeybear


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